In a city famous worldwide for its architecture, the Cubist buildings in Prague are among the most obscure, but fascinating, aspects of its rich history.
The buildings – inspired by the angular artworks of the likes of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque – are a rarity, with Cubist architecture only ever developing in Prague and what was then Bohemia between 1911 and 1914. After independence at the end of World War I, Czech Cubist architecture underwent something of a revival, with a new and again uniquely Czech variant, Rondocubism, flourishing into the mid-1920s.
In this article I’ll explain what Cubist architecture in Prague is, both in terms of its inspiration and characteristics, and show you where it fits into 20th-century European architectural history.
I’ll also show you the best examples of Cubist buildings in Prague, with the history of each, what to look out for and a few additional tips I picked up from living in Prague for four years.
I hope you find it enjoyable and useful.
Cubist Prague Tours
Several Prague tours visit a combination of the city’s Cubist and Art Nouveau buildings, and here are my picks:
Private Prague Cubism & Art Nouveau Tour – as a lover of Cubist architecture, this tour covers the most ground, including the sights around Wenceslas Square and the New Town, and also including the villas and apartments around Vyšehrad.
Prague Art Nouveau and Cubism Walking Tour – this visits some great locations over 3 hours, a good mixture of Art Nouveau and Cubist sites mostly around Prague New Town
Cubist Buildings In Prague – An Introduction
Cubist architecture followed on from the art of Pablo Picasso, with its distinctive diamond and triangular shapes prominent.
It had a very short lifespan, from 1911 to 1914, although its influence can be seen in some post-World War I Czechoslovak architecture.
Cubist art also influenced other aspects of Czech design, particularly furniture, ornamentation and stylised lettering.
Cubist architecture began towards the end of the Art Nouveau period across Europe, which petered out by the outbreak of the First World War.
It never really caught on anywhere outside what is now the Czech Republic, although some Prague Cubist buildings bear some resemblance to Raymond Duchamp-Villon’s La Maison Cubiste, a model installation of a Cubist house created for the 1912 Salon d’Automne exhibition in Paris. The house was never built.
Beyond this I’d say that its closest cousin is probably the Amsterdam School of architecture which was contemporary with it.
Czech Cubist architecture but may have had more influence than many realise, particularly with the development of Art Deco in the 1920s and 1930s.
Characteristics of Cubist Buildings In Prague
The first thing you’ll notice is the prevalence of three-dimensional angular shapes on the surface of buildings, especially diamonds and triangles. And there’s often an absence of any flat surfaces. These shapes were intended to release the energy of the buildings.
You’ll also see three-dimensional windows – not dissimilar to bay windows – on early Cubist buildings – and seldom a flat one.
Stylised letters are also a feature of Cubist buildings – the Bethlehem Chapel is perhaps the best example of this.
Statuary is also prominent on some Cubist buildings, including the Adamova Pharmacy on Wenceslas Square. They trend to veer away from realistic depictions, and are another forerunner of what would later develop under Art Deco over the following twenty years or so.
Cubist buildings also prefigured future Functionalist architecture with the construction of a concrete skeleton, which enabled architects to build large interior rooms.
Where To Stay In Prague – Prague’s Best Hotels for Architecture
***** – Art Deco Imperial Hotel – stunning Art Deco hotel in the New Town, close to several of the Cubist buildings in Prague
***** – Hotel Paris Prague – outstanding luxury hotel, part Gothic Revival, part Art Nouveau
**** – Boutique Hotel Green Lobster – beautiful Baroque house, rooms with gorgeous painted ceilings, just down the hill from Prague Castle
**** – Grand Hotel International – Prague’s only surviving Socialist Realist building, a mini-Moscow University classic with original model worker murals from the 1950s
House of the Black Madonna
The most famous Cubist building in Prague is the House of the Black Madonna (Dům U Černé Matky Boží ), the work of one of the great Czech architects, Josef Gočar. It’s also considered the first Cubist building in the world, built in 1911-12.
Controversially, Gočar’s building replaced a Baroque townhouse (which bore the same name) from the 17th or 18thcentury, and it was to stand out in its location on Celetna, one of the main historic streets in Old Town Prague, even with enforced compromises.
The House of the Black Madonna originally housed a department store, built for businessman František Herbst. It also included a café on the first floor (see the following section). The House is now home to the Czech Cubist Museum as well as the restored café and a Cubist-themed restaurant on the ground floor. Consequently it’s the most accessible of all Cubist buildings in Prague.
After buying your ticket, you could take the lift to the Museum, but I recommend taking the Cubist-style staircase, built around the shape of a lightbulb, instead.
Grand Café Orient
The Grand Café Orient can lay a strong claim to being the first Cubist café in the world – and until the Cubism Restaurant opened downstairs in the same building, it was probably the only Cubist café in the world too.
The original Grand Café Orient was in operation for around ten years, until Herbst’s department store closed down. The Café also closed as the lower two floors of the building were taken over by a bank.
The Café finally opened after 83 years in 2005. The building and café were restored, with considerable help from black-and-white photographs of the interior. Details including the Cubist-style buffet bar, the benches, chairs, lantern fittings and even the coat hooks were re-created – the originals are believed to have been the work of Gočar himself.
Czech Cubist Museum
The Prague Cubist Museum occupies the second and third floors of the House of the Black Madonna. It’s a small but outstanding exhibition that gives you a great idea of the scope of this short-lived movement.
I particularly loved the Cubist furniture, including the chairs, a Cubist sofa that brought to mind later Art Deco-style sun motifs, and a Cubist cupboard and cabinet. My wife Faye is a lifelong furniture collector, and these are the first pieces I’ve seen in my life that have given me furniture envy and make me want to start collecting myself.
Teachers’ Apartment Block, Bilkova
This striking apartment block – built by Otakar Novotny in the 1920s – may have been completed after the brief Cubist period, but it bears many of the hallmarks of Cubist architecture.
It’s at the northern end of Josefov, the historic Jewish district, in Prague Old Town, and a two-minute walk from the Vltava River.
Originally built for teachers working in the city, the façade has some of the features you also see in Josef Chochol’s villas and apartment buildings in Vyšehrad. Alternating windows – with diamond-shaped decoration below – protrude from the façade, while rows of smaller diamond shapes also make these windows stand out more.
The cornice – with its triangular pattern and geometric reliefs below – would also have made any Cubist-era architect proud!
Getting there: Tram 17 to Právnická fakulta, then a minute’s walk.
Adamova Lékárna, Wenceslas Square
This century-old pharmacy at the lower end of Wenceslas Square was designed by Emil Králiček, an architect active on the cusp of the Art Nouveau and Cubist periods. Like the nearby Diamant building it was built by his collaborator Matěj Blecha in 1911-1912.
Next door to the Bata shoe store at number 8, the Adamova Pharmacy is one of the outstanding buildings on Wenceslas Square. Curiously, it has both Art Nouveau elements (the curved frontage and statuary) and Cubist features. The lettering and lamps at the lower end of the façade show these influences, as does the second image above, the relief of what I can only describe as a buxom bird of prey, with decorative square patterns either side.
The pharmacy – which only occupies the front ground floor part of the building – is well worth a brief visit. I went in one day soon after we moved to Prague to buy a packet of Paracetamol, and was delighted to find that they still have all the old original shelving behind the counter. If Harry Potter had ever needed relief from a headache in one of his movies, he should have come here.
And bear in mind that the Cubist lamp post I write about later in the article is at the back of the building. You can reach it via an arcade.
Getting there: Metro lines B or C to Můstek (Vaclávské náměstí and Na Přikopě exit)
Bethlehem Chapel, Žižkov
I’m pretty sure that we can add ‘only Cubist church in the world’ to Prague’s list of ‘only Cubist’ buildings on the planet. The Cubist Bethlehem Chapel in Žižkov, another building by Emil Králiček, was completed in 1911-12 for the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, and it’s one of the most fascinating churches in Prague to visit.
The façade has several Cubist decorative elements – the lettering, the busts inside the lozenge- (and coffin-) shaped niches, the angular archway, the arrow-shaped relief carvings and the golden chalice resting on a Bible at the top of the facade.
The sparse interior is stunning, with beautiful geometric patterns painted on the walls, a pulpit with a Cubist-style star carved on the front, and a relief of a golden chalice above it with the message ‘Pravda Zvítězí’ – ‘Truth will prevail’.
It’s not easy to find the Bethlehem Chapel, as it is hidden away in a courtyard behind an apartment building on Prokopova (pointer – it’s almost opposite the Tesco Express store). Opening times are sadly scant, so the best time to see inside is between 9.00 am and 9.30 am on a Sunday morning, before the weekly service is held.
Getting there: Trams 5, 9, 15 and 26 stop at Lipanská, from where it’s a three-minute walk down the hill to the Chapel. Turn left and cross the road when you reach Prokopova.
Vila Kovařovicova, Vyšehrad
Architect Josef Chochol is responsible for a cluster of Cubist buildings below the Vyšehrad fortress at the southern end ofPrague city centre. Built between 1912-13, the Villa bears the closest resemblance to La Maison Cubiste of all the Cubist buildings in Prague. And it’s well worth heading a little off the beaten tourist path to see this gem and his other buildings close by.
The Villa is a simple white building with a part-octagonal rear façade looking out over the Vltava River towards Prague Castle. The garden railings are unlike any others I’ve seen, each rail mirroring the protrusions of the walls between each window. There’s also another, longer façade on the street behind, Libušina.
You can admire the Vila Kovařovicova from the outside at any time, but getting inside is a different matter. The house is privately owned, and only open to the public once a year for the Open House Prague week which usually takes place each May. At the time of writing (2026) it’s not included on the list of open properties, but I applied four times while living in the city to visit the Vila, and each time the tours were heavily oversubscribed.
Trojsky Dům, Vyšehrad
Also known as the Trojdům, this trio of Cubist houses by Josef Chochol is a three-minute walk south of the Kovařovicova Villa is another rare survival from the period. Although three separate residences, the houses form a harmonious whole, with pink houses flanking the central white building.
The houses were built for two prominent Prague builders – Antonin Belada and František Hodek, while the middle residence was bought by the local Bayer family.
The facades have classic Cubist architectural features, including the notable protruding geometrical shapes on the walls, and there are other details worth looking out for including the hexagonal upstairs windows. There are also reliefs of Czech figures including Libuše, legendary queen and one of the supposed founders of the city of Prague in the 8th century.
On a personal note, I’ve travelled past these houses and Vila Kovařovicova a thousand times or more on my old home tram (Prague tram 17), but never seen inside any of them as they are private residences rarely if ever open to the public.
Getting there: Trams 2, 3, 7 or 17 to Výtoň followed by a short walk.
Diamant Building, Lazarská
This five-storey corner building in New Town Prague is one of the most intriguing Cubist buildings in Prague. It’s the work of Emil Králiček, who began this store building with the intention of creating something in the Art Nouveau style, but opted to use more Cubist motifs instead.
The windows on the upper level are similar in shape to those of other Cubist buildings, with the three lower sides of a rectangle topped by two low angle sides meeting in the middle, like a low isosceles triangle. The decoration varies from reliefs of crystals and diamonds to figures on the upper floors.
On the Spálená side of the building, there is an amazing Cubist doorway with wide angular pillars, and next to it, a distinctive Cubist archway under which an 18th-century statue of St John Nepomuk stands. This archway stands next to, in contract yet also in harmony, with the Baroque Church of the Holy Trinity next door.
You can visit the ground floor of Dům Diamant, which has been home to a branch of Budget Books for some years. However the bookstore doesn’t have any visible Cubist details. The building was once home to artist and writer Adolf Hoffmeister, and his former apartment is now used by Czech lighting design company Bomma to showcase their latest work.
Getting there: Numerous trams (including the 2,3,5,6, 7, 9, 18 and 21) stop at Lazarská, either a few steps from or across the street from Dům Diamant.
Opening times: Dům Diamant is open for a few days a year as part of the Open House Prague event.
LOCAL’S TIP
You can see four of the finest Cubist buildings in Prague on a single tram journey. The number 3 tram between Florenc and Podolská vodárna passes the Palac Archa (see below – on your left if travelling from Florenc, then two stops after Wenceslas Square (just after the Lazarská stop) the Diamant building (on your right, on the corner with Spalena).
After the tram reaches the river and turns left, just after the Výtoň stop you can see the white Vila Kovařovicova on your left, on the corner of the T-junction.
Keep your eyes peeled on the next stretch as the pink and white Trojsky Dům is on your left.
Cubist Lamp Post, Jungmannovo náměstí
The only Cubist lamp post in the world is also the work of Emil Králiček, and it’s one of my favourite hidden gems in Prague. It’s very easy to miss, tucked away behind the Adamova Lékarna pharmacy and flagship Bata shoe store on Wenceslas Square, on Jungmannovo náměstí.
It’s a magnificent work, included as part of Králiček’s overall design of the square. It’s a stack of geometric shapes with etched diamond and linear decorations, and a geometric glass lantern at the top. It’s no in working order once again, having been out of action while I lived in Prague – I was thwarted a few times in my quest to capture a twilight shot of it!
Getting there: Metro lines B or C to Můstek (Vaclávské náměstí and Na Přikopě exit)
Ďáblice Cemetery
The final Cubist treasure in Prague from the original era is out of sight in the far north of the city. The Ďáblice Cemetery, in the district of Prague 8, was built between1912 and 1914, the golden window for the flowering of Cubist architecture in the city, and the wall and entrances to the cemetery were built in this style.
From the tram terminus (see below) walk north and you’ll immediately notice the white cemetery wall with its geometrical pillars. You soon reach the first of two entrances to the Cemetery, both the work of Vlastislav Hofman. This is the less striking of the two, with two simple functionalist buildings flanking a square arch. There is some Cubist styling on the doors with diamond patterns.
Continue north along another section of cemetery wall, which is closer to three-dimensional with the top of the wall protruding slightly. After around 500 metres you come to the second, more attractive entrance. Here, two octagonal turrets, each with octagonal windows and layered conical roofs, stand either side of a more ornate gate cast in a geometrical pattern.
I only visited one section of the Cemetery, but didn’t notice any further Cubist decoration along my route.
The two assassins responsible for the death of Nazi ‘Reichsprotektor’ Reinhard Heydrich are believed to have been interred at one of the mass graves at the Cemetery, as were other wartime resistance fighters and, later, victims of Communism.
Getting there: Tram 10 to its northern terminus at Sídliště Ďáblice, followed by a short walk further along Ďáblice to the entrances.
Rondocubist Buildings In Prague
Following the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918 (after almost 300 years under Austrian rule) Czech and Slovak art and architecture flourished. A new variant of Cubism – Rondocubism – is another almost solely Czech branch of early 20th-century architecture, with an emphasis on circles rather than angular forms. It also flourished for a few brief years, and one of its most prominent exponents was the original Cubist pioneer Josef Gočar.
Rondocubism is sometimes described retrospectively as Czech Art Deco. I don’t entirely agree, as the original Cubist architecture was closer in form and style to Art Deco than its successor style.
Palac Archa (formerly Legiobanka)
Compared with the decorative delights of Art Nouveau, it’s probably fair to describe the straight lines and angles of Cubist buildings in Prague as fairly minimalist. But there’s no way you could possibly describe this next building this way.
Gočar designed and built the Legiobanka head office on Na Poříčí between 1921 and 1923. It was founded in Irkutsk, Siberia, in 1919, with the purpose of supporting soldiers from the Czechoslovak Legion. The façade is full of friezes depicting the exploits of the Legion in places as far apart as the Russian Far East, Italy and the Western Front.
The front of the building is crammed with these friezes, and with additional elements including the rounded arches above windows, it’s a dazzling, almost bewildering sight. I’ve stopped outside the building many times and always marvelled at it, even if it is a bit overdone.
The interior still houses a branch of the ČSOB bank, and is also home to the Divádlo Archa, one of the best music venues in Prague. The entrance lobby – in the ČSOB branch – is stunning, well worth a brief look. One of the most amazing buildings in Prague.
Palac Adria
The second most famous Rondocubist building in Prague is the Adria Palace, built for an Italian insurance company, Riunone Adriatica di Sicurta. It’s on the corner of Jungmannovo náměstí, a two-minute walk from the Cubist lamp post mentioned earlier in the article.
The building was designed by Josef Zasche, and the façade and decoration was the work of Pavel Janak. Like the Legiobanka building, it’s quite an eyeful, packed with reliefs decorating above and between the building’s many windows. If you enjoy visiting the historic cafes in Prague, I suggest paying a visit to Caffe Adria on the second floor, with a wonderful 1920s interior, or the option of a table on the terrace overlooking the square and St Mary of the Snows Church.
Cubist-Inspired Bollards, Malostranské náměstí
These striking bollards are some way off the beaten Cubist track, across the Vltava River on Malostranské náměstí.
They are the work of sculptor Karel Nepraš, who was also responsible for the quirky statue of Czech author Jaroslav Hašek in Žižkov. They’re more inspired by the Cubist art of Picasso, Robert Delaunay or Albert Gleizes than any of the Cubist buildings in Prague. The figures, like these paintings, make the human face or form appear very different – my son and I used to remark that they looked like robots, or something you’d build with blocks.
There are 27 of these bollards, a number significant in Czech history – they commemorate the 27 Czech nobles executed by the Austrians on Old Town Square in 1621, following the defeat of the bohemian Revolt.
Cubist Buildings In Prague – Final Words
I hope that you have enjoyed this article. These buildings aren’t always obvious, and some are well off the beaten path, but it’s very rewarding to track them down and find survivals of this very rare form of architecture. I passed some of these buildings countless times on the tram, and seeing them so often is an immense privilege.
For more information on the city’s architectural heritage, I suggest taking a look at my Prague Architecture guide, and also my article on Art Nouveau Prague.
I lived in Prague for over four years, and have written extensively about the city. Here are some more articles which you may find of interest:
Top Sights In Prague
55 Amazing Things To Do In Prague – By A Former Local
Charles Bridge Prague – one of the most beautiful bridges in the world
Old Town Square Prague – one of the most beautiful squares in the world
Týn Church Prague – stunning Gothic church with fairytale spires
Landmarks of Prague – 22 unmissable sights in the city
Jewish Prague – all Jewish sites in Prague, including those beyond the Josefov district
Hidden Gems in Prague -27 off the beaten track sights to seek out
How To Visit Prague Zoo – one of the best in Europe
Prague by Area
Old Town Prague – one of the most captivating old towns in Europe
New Town Prague – the modern heart of the Czech capital – but a taste of the old is never far away
Malá Strana Prague – the enchanting Baroque ‘Lesser Quarter’ below Prague Castle
Kampa Island Prague– the most beautiful and intriguing of Prague’s islands
Vltava River in Prague– everything there is to see along the river in the Czech capital
Themed Articles On Prague
Churches in Prague – 20 wondrous churches from St Vitus Cathedral to a modernist masterpiece in Vinohrady
Communist Prague – 18 Fascinating Places To Explore
Sunsets In Prague – the 10 best places to see them
Prague Streets – the city’s most beautiful streets
Prague Parks – green escapes, riverside walks, beer gardens and more
Prague Gardens – the stunning formal gardens of Prague
Prague World War 2 Sites – including the Heydrich assassination site and more